Chapter 5: The People Management Remix Flashcards
MICHAEL ABRAMS was asked to consult with a large company because several veterans had left the organization after only a few months on the job, and the company was concerned it wasn’t serving the needs of the veteran population.
The teams with high veteran turnover had nothing to do with the fact that the team members were veterans and everything to do with the generally poor people __________ of the leaders of those teams.”
management skills
If you find yourself asking why your managers are struggling to manage Millennials or Gen Zs—or any specific generation or group, for that matter—it is worth asking if those managers are struggling to manage people ______. Other generations of employees might also be unhappy, but Millennials and Gen Zs just might be the only ones speaking up. (Thank you, “entitlement”!)
in general
one of the most constructive changes younger generations have brought to the workplace:
speaking up
The people management remix requires an acknowledgment that many people managers never learned the “______” to begin with. In this chapter we will talk about some new tools available to managers, but much of what we’ll discuss is about going back to basics.
classics
Managers Matter More Than Ever
In 2008, Google’s People Operations team (their term for human resources) launched Project ______, in which the company studied 10,000 people to determine whether managers made a difference in team performance.
Oxygen
Managers Matter More Than Ever:
Google defined manager quality based on two key measures: manager performance ratings and ________ on managers from Google’s annual survey of employees.
feedback
Managers Matter More Than Ever
The data definitively revealed that managers did matter: the highest-scoring managers saw less turnover on their teams, and _______ correlated more strongly to manager quality than to seniority, performance, tenure, or promotions.
retention
Managers Matter More Than Ever
The study also showed a connection between manager quality and worker ______: employees with high-scoring bosses consistently reported greater satisfaction in areas such as innovation, work/life integration, and career development.
happiness
Managers Matter More Than Ever
What exactly defined a high-scoring boss at Google? The number one quality their research determined in 2008 and again when they revisited the research in 2018 is that the manager is “_______.”
“a good coach”
Managers Matter More Than Ever
Google defined being a good coach as taking such actions as providing ______ and specific feedback, holding regular one-on-one meetings, listening, meeting individual communication needs, and being aware of your own mindset and that of your employee.
timely
Managers Matter More Than Ever
If the same, “classic” strategies have been available forever, why haven’t all generations of managers been great?
Because they didn’t have to be.
Managers Matter More Than Ever
Many of these leaders, in order to maintain their positions, are being required to take management training programs or ___________ that, frankly, they should have had long ago.
executive coaching
Managers Matter More Than Ever
As the workplace becomes more heavily dominated by the Millennial generation, there will be even more attention on ______.
managers
Managers Matter More Than Ever
If manager training and effectiveness are weaknesses in your organization, ___ is the time to address them.
now
Managers Matter More Than Ever:
For starters, take a look at whether your own _______ may be getting in the way of effectively managing yourself and your team.
age bias
Where to Start: Lead Yourself First
As a leader, you have to look at your own attitudes about age and aging, because everyone is biased. What language do you use about yourself and others? Do you use “still” when it comes to ordinary activities, like “still driving” or “still working,” for example, or say things like, “I don’t feel old,” when what you actually mean is that you don’t feel invisible or incompetent? Do you make self-deprecating jokes, or blame things on age when age actually has nothing to do with it? If so, try to break the habit.
Ashton Applewhite advises
Where to Start: Lead Yourself First
There is no need for blaming or guilt; just start to notice your ______. The goal of reflecting on your own beliefs and biases is to build awareness and acknowledge what expectations you have that may be different from those of your employees.
habits
Where to Start: Lead Yourself First
Applying Remixer Rule #8: It’s okay if everybody wins, this executive decided to request that employees check in with him at least three times a day on their remote work days:
This allowed for the employees to work from home and the boss to feel like he was still managing his employees properly.
Where to Start: Lead Yourself First
The more ______ you communicate your style and expectations, the more your employees can meet them.
clearly
Where to Start: Lead Yourself First
I can’t help but imagine that, in the not-too-distant future, choosing to work for a particular ____ will involve a process not unlike shopping on Amazon. What if, before interviewing with a particular manager, a candidate could read reviews and advice written by other people who have worked for that manager and about how to meet their expectations?
boss
How to Manage Someone Older Than You
How does people management change if you are one of the many leaders today who is managing one or more employees who are older—sometimes significantly older—than you?
The answer is that my recommended management strategies _________, but their implementation becomes even more imperative.
don’t change at all
How to Manage Someone Older Than You:
The primary piece of advice I find myself giving to younger managers of older employees is ________ that the older person minds the age difference.
not to assume
How to Manage Someone Older Than You
On the other hand, if an employee you oversee does comment about your younger age or appears uncomfortable or even resentful, there are some steps you can take.
1) The first is to: spend some time getting to know the older employee.
2) try to focus on end results and be flexible about how people accomplish their work.
3)
3) Be willing to have a direct conversation about your age difference if necessary.
How to Manage Someone Older Than You
The first is to spend some time getting to know the older employee. Ask questions about the person’s experience, opinions, expertise, and interests. Listen. A lot. When you give others time and respect, they are more likely to ______.
reciprocate
How to Manage Someone Older Than You
Next, try to focus on the ______ and be flexible about how people accomplish their work. You might find that older employees (or any employees, for that matter) have ways of working that are different from yours, and that is okay.
end result
How to Manage Someone Older Than You
Finally, be willing to have a direct conversation about your age difference if necessary. While you may never be beloved by this employee, you can ask explicitly for the person’s respect. Be open, ______, and communicative, and you just might find that the younger boss–older employee dynamic is a refreshing and positive remix.
flexible
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
Many companies, perhaps most famously GE, would rank employees and ______ the bottom 10 percent in a system derisively referred to as “rank and yank.”
jettison
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback:
The entire process of annual reviews tends to feel __________ at best, pointless at worst. It is also the case that many organizations provide little or no guidance to managers on how to conduct a performance review, so individual experiences can vary tremendously.
backwards looking
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback:
What’s a modern, multigenerational organization to do? Many have decided to ______ or fully replace annual reviews with more frequent, ongoing feedback, believing—and I strongly agree with this belief—that it is more valuable to employees, managers, customers, and organizations to offer instant feedback right when it matters and can lead to better outcomes.
supplement
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback:
Desire for more feedback in general is a __________ issue. According to a PwC study, 72 percent of employees under 30 said they want feedback on a daily or weekly basis.
cross-generational
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
Many Gen X employees in particular tell me that they don’t feel as _____ for feedback as their older and younger colleagues. As we discussed in chapter 1, many Xers prefer to be more independent.
eager
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback: EXAMPLES
A) ONE-MINUTE MANAGEMENT.
B) EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS.
C) ONE-ON-ONE CHECK-INS.
D) STAY CONVERSATIONS.
E)
F) MBWA
E) FEEDBACK APPS
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback:
ONE MINUTE MANAGEMENT:
“What is the most _______ management book you have read and would recommend to new managers?” Far and away the number one answer was The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, which was originally published in 1982.
Indispensable
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback:
ONE MINUTE MANAGEMENT:
The authors knew back when Millennials were in diapers that the best way to manage people is to provide regular, specific feedback in exactly the way the book title describes: short bursts of one-minute praising and one-minute _______. It really can be that simple, as long as managers are consistent.
correction
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback:
ONE MINUTE MANAGEMENT:
If you lead too large a team for ongoing individual feedback to be realistic, then consider offering regular “_______” during which anyone can schedule an appointment or just pop in to talk—in person or via phone, Skype, text, instant messenger, or any other medium.
“office hours”
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS:
If I had to pinpoint the advice I offer most often to older generations managing younger employees, it is to be more specific not just in feedback but in _________. Remember Remixer Rule #5: Common sense is not so common.
initial instructions
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS:
“She should have known not to talk”
That is absolutely a ______ on the part of the partner. “You should have known better” is not exactly helpful feedback.
failure
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS:
The need for more explicit directions may be related to the fact that Millennials had more _______ from parents, teachers, and coaches, or it just may be the simple issue that we don’t know what we don’t know. Specific, explicit instructions are important no matter what generations you manage.
oversight
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
ONE-ON-ONE CHECK-INS:
Adobe is one company that has abolished annual performance reviews and decided to replace them with “______,” frequent meetings between employees and managers.
“check-ins”
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
ONE-ON-ONE CHECK-INS:
Human resources expert Jaime Klein, founder and CEO of Inspire Human Resources, likes to remind people managers, “Everyone wears this invisible necklace that says, ‘_______. Pay attention to me.’
“I am important”
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
ONE-ON-ONE CHECK-INS:
I advise managers to go back to basics and just get to know people. A little personal ______ can go a long way toward building trust and engagement between boss and employee.
attention
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
STAY CONVERSATIONS:
A more formalized variation on one-on-one check-ins is known at some organizations as a “__________.” This is a deliberate conversation between manager and employee about the employee’s future at the organization. While not a promise, a stay conversation is an opportunity for a manager to explicitly tell key talent how much they are valued. In today’s uncertain times, stay conversations can be critical to alleviate stress and support retention.
“stay conversation”
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
FEEDBACK APPS:
Some organizations, such as IBM and Warby Parker, have replaced their annual performance reviews with apps that provide employees with __________.
ongoing feedback
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
FEEDBACK APPS:
The goal of the app is to offer an opportunity for partners and associates to talk more regularly and in real time about case and work developments. Particularly in a highly _____ and ______ job, the app is a way to both raise the performance culture and make a big firm feel smaller.”
demanding and stressful
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
Management By Wandering Around (MBWA):
Another simple, effective, and economical people management strategy and feedback opportunity is the decades-old Management by ________, which is as easy as it sounds: walking around and chitchatting with your team.
wandering around
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
Management By Wandering Around (MBWA):
One Harvard Business School study found that managers with the lowest levels of _____ are those known for shutting themselves in their offices.
respect
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
Management By Wandering Around (MBWA):
Donna Kalajian Lagani of Cosmopolitan magazine, whom you met in a previous chapter, is a practitioner. “If I have a question for someone on my team, I never e-mail,”
“It’s important to be very visible”
Goodbye, Annual Review; Hello, Daily Feedback
Management By Wandering Around (MBWA):
If you choose to implement MBWA, remember to be _______ in your wandering. Be careful not to visit only the areas where Gen X employees sit, or chat only with outgoing personality types, or longer-tenured staff of a certain level. And let people know explicitly that your goal is chatting and listening, not checking on them.
inclusive
The Return of Apprenticeship:
One day she said, “Come sit in my office and listen to me make fund-raising calls.”It was the kind of sales and ________ training money can’t buy. I was able to hear firsthand how my boss started each call, created rapport, refuted objections politely, and closed on a positive note, no matter what the outcome had been.
communication
The Return of Apprenticeship:
no training is as powerful as _______ someone in your own organization doing the exact work you will be asked to do.
observing
The Return of Apprenticeship:
Apprenticeship is a low- to no-cost people ___________ that is particularly valuable in generationally diverse teams. The remix is that apprenticeship now goes in multiple directions depending on the skills that need to be learned.
management technique
The Return of Apprenticeship:
Apprenticing can take place in a variety of combinations, from manager/employee to mentor/mentee to employee/employee to intern/employee and more. This is valuable to the employee who is learning, and also ______ the knowledge and experience of the employee in the modeling role.
honors
The Return of Apprenticeship:
Apprenticeship strategies to consider:
A) CARVE OUT OPPORTUNITIES
B) COPY EMPLOYEES ON HIGHER-LEVEL MATTERS.
C)
C) BE A ROLE MODEL.
The Return of Apprenticeship:
Apprenticeship strategies to consider: Carve Out Opportunities:
Since public speaking is one of the areas in which members of all _______ tell me they want more experience, this is a simple and effective apprenticeship habit that is inclusive and, according to McGohan Brabender employees, highly valued and appreciated
generations
The Return of Apprenticeship:
COPY EMPLOYEES ON HIGHER-LEVEL MATTERS:
His solution was to cc or bcc his _____ employees on more of his e-mail correspondence, so they could understand how he works, how he phrases conversations, and how he handles various situations.
junior
The Return of Apprenticeship:
BE A ROLE MODEL:
If you’re a leader, ask _______ if you are truly modeling the behavior that you want your employees to demonstrate.
yourself
The Return of Apprenticeship:
BE A ROLE MODEL:
As former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said, “The most powerful tool you have as a ______ is your own personal example.”
leader
The Return of Apprenticeship:
BE A ROLE MODEL:
A study by the nonprofit Common Sense Media found that ___ percent of teens wish their parents would spend less time on their devices.)
33 percent
Acknowledge and Praise:
Acknowledgment and praise are vastly _______ management tools across all generations.
underutilized
Acknowledge and Praise:
The individuals and companies that are good at ______ reap the rewards.
gratitude
Acknowledge and Praise:
You choose what work you acknowledge. You choose which people you thank, but nothing is more ______ to people than gratitude.”
valuable
Acknowledge and Praise: Up your organizations Acknowledgment and Gratitude Game
A) Know people’s names
B)
C) Promote more frequently
B) Share successful outcomes
Acknowledge and Praise: Up your organizations Acknowledgment and Gratitude Game:
KNOW PEOPLE’S NAMES:
_____ down names until you memorize them
jotting
Acknowledge and Praise: Up your organizations Acknowledgment and Gratitude Game:
SHARE SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES:
People want to know not just that you’re grateful but that their work had _____.
meaning
Acknowledge and Praise: Up your organizations Acknowledgment and Gratitude Game:
PROMOTE MORE FREQUENTLY:
Competitive-minded Baby Boomers enjoy the bump in prestige. Oft-ignored Gen Xers appreciate the acknowledgment of their hard work. Fast-paced, success-minded Millennials and Gen Zs like to have visible evidence of their forward momentum. And all of us in Customization Nation enjoy the feeling of a ________career path.
personalized
Acknowledge and Praise: Up your organizations Acknowledgment and Gratitude Game:
PROMOTE MORE FREQUENTLY:
While all promotions need to be earned, it’s time to be less stingy with ________.
title bumps
Acknowledge and Praise: Up your organizations Acknowledgment and Gratitude Game:
PROMOTE MORE FREQUENTLY:
Note that acknowledging employees isn’t just a “nice” thing to do; it’s a business improvement strategy. Gallup research has found that 80 percent of employees across generations said recognition is a strong motivator of work performance, and 70 percent said they would work ______ with continuous recognition.
harder
Explain the Why:
Millennials tell me they are willing to do almost any type of work asked of them, with one major caveat: they want to know ___ they’re being asked to do it
why
Explain the Why:
Explanations and _____ resonate with Millennials; they grew up with information at their fingertips and expect to know what’s going on and how their work impacts an organization’s larger purpose.
context
Explain the Why:
Transparency breeds _____.
trust
Explain the Why:
Sometimes you might not know why your team is being asked to do something. But that doesn’t mean you can’t give your own team an explanation even if your leaders don’t give one to you.
Create a why
Explain the why:
____ alway helps
humor
Explain The Why:
It is also okay—when asked “Why?”—to admit when you don’t know the answer. Acknowledging “We don’t know yet” or “I will get back to you when I know more” can be as powerful as having a complete explanation. Employees of all generations appreciate ______ and candor.
authenticity
Explain the Why:
And, finally, it’s also important to _________ when your employees ask why, and you don’t have a very good answer.
listen carefully
CHAPTER 5: KEY TAKEAWAYS
The people management remix requires an acknowledgment that many people managers never learned the “_______” to begin with.
“classics”
CHAPTER 5: KEY TAKEAWAYS
Because employees have more power today to “review” bosses online and there is less stigma against __________, managers are under more pressure to be effective people leaders.
frequent job changes
CHAPTER 5: KEY TAKEAWAYS
Take a look at whether you possess any ageist views or expectations that are getting in the way of effectively managing yourself and your team. Stop any ______ jokes about age or experience and help employees understand why you hold certain expectations.
self-deprecating
CHAPTER 5: KEY TAKEAWAYS
Consider supplementing or fully replacing __________ with more frequent, timely, ongoing feedback in the form of one-minute management, one-on-one check-ins, or feedback apps. All generations appreciate having more regular insight into their performance.
annuel reviews
CHAPTER 5: KEY TAKEAWAYS
_______ is a low- to no-cost people management technique that is particularly valuable in generationally diverse teams. Look for small opportunities, such as copying team members on more e-mail communications, to offer guidance and model behavior.
Apprenticeship
CHAPTER 5: KEY TAKEAWAYS
Acknowledgment and _____ are vastly underutilized management tools across all generations. Share successful outcomes with your team, write thank-you notes/e-mails/texts, and consider giving more promotions. Remember that thank-yous are free.
praise
CHAPTER 5: KEY TAKEAWAYS
Always explain the “why.” Employees of all generations appreciate transparency and honesty, and knowing the reasons behind decisions makes employees at all levels feel like they are part of the _____.
team
